Industrial power boilers generally comprise cylindrical drums that hold medium to be heated, i.e., water and steam. The interiors of such drums are connected by numerous metal boiler tubes or pipes. Water from a drum may pass through such boiler tubes while being heated. As the water is heated and converted into steam, the steam may collect in another drum.
Similar to a smoke stack, heated gas enters through one end and exits through the other of a power boiler, with the boiler tubes being positioned in the cross stream of the heat to maximize heat transfer. The heat source may be fire from coal or gas or other fuel source as known in the art. The boiler tubes are positioned apart in relation to each other to allow gas to flow around the metal tube while maximizing heat transfer. The boiler tubes are positioned to allow maximal surface area exposure to the heat. The various components, steam drums, mud drums, and boiler tubes can all be customized for size, material, and other specification as needed.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a layout of two drums, a mud drum 10 and a steam drum 12, which are connected by numerous boiler tubes 14. As shown in FIG. 1, the mud drum 10 and the steam drum 12 may be positioned vertically to each other, or with one positioned on top of another in relation to each other. In other embodiments, the mud drum 10 may be positioned horizontally in relation to each other or otherwise customized as desired or needed. In FIG. 1, water may be held in the interior portion 18 of the mud drum, and as water is heated, heated steam passes through the boiler tubes 14 to collect at the interior portion 16 of the steam drum 12. Water, which may start at ambient room temperature of 90 degrees, may quickly become superheated to 900 degrees or more. Thus, with the use of water for example, the boiler becomes a powerful steam generator.
Such hollow cylinder drums may be extremely large and have wall thicknesses of an inch or more. The boiler tubes may be 10 to 60 feet in length or more and may be customized according to need. In some embodiments, the boiler tubes may number 2000 or more, for example.